The showroom
Automaster launches new concept Auckland showroom NEW HENDERSON SHOWROOM GIVES CUSTOMERS HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE OF WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT OPTIONS uto Channel got an early look at Automaster’s new Henderson showroom recently, which demonstrates the company’s response to changing trends in equipment purchasing. Managing director Gary Cotterell says the company has expanded and moved several times over the years, but its new location in Henderson Valley Road ticks all the boxes. “Space is easy to get; you can get space anywhere, but this place has a big yard, which is much harder to find.” Automaster needs the space for handling and unpacking containers. In recent weeks, the company has taken in eight 40-foot containers from Italy and 15 from China, which has finally topped up the company’s stock levels back to where they should be. Automaster is now almost fully stocked in Auckland, as well as having a good stock of lifts in its other warehouse in Christchurch. The refurbishment of what used to be the Charlie’s Juice factory in Auckland is ongoing. The offices adjacent to the 260-square-metre showroom have been completed, giving sales staff a picture-window view of the showroom. All of the equipment installed is ready to run, so customers can touch, feel, and see the long list of features of modern workshop equipment in action. Tyre machines and balancers have been arranged in order around the walls from simplest to most sophisticated. Hoists and a wheel alignment set-up fill the centre of the showroom. Gary says they didn’t have enough space to fit all of the available hoists, but they can show 60 per cent of them. The most popular options showing key features in each range are on display.
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Having done the research, many customers will have narrowed their choices down to two or three similar machines — but each will have slightly different features and price points. “That’s where the showroom comes in,” says Gary. “At that point customers are keen to see them in the metal to see differences in the machines. They can come in and get proper demonstrations with one of our very experienced sales guys, see which will work best for them, and compare the different features and price points.” It helps customers make a choice based on practical experience rather than a hunch, says Gary. All of the machines in the showroom are wired up and ready to go. Price and value for money is obviously still a key consideration when choosing equipment, which is why Automaster’s range is built around three price points — low, middle, and high. It has specified
its own brand range to deliver tyre equipment and hoists with high-quality components offering exceptional value, while also distributing some of the world’s most respected brands in automotive workshop equipment, such as Corghi, Peak, Powerrex, and Maha. Gary says home workshops which don’t have intensive use normally go for the lower price range, while tyre shops that are putting through hundreds of tyres and dealerships will often go for higher spec machines to get the durability, speed, and labour-saving features they offer. Independently owned workshops generally go for the middle ground of price and value-packed equipment, says Gary — but of course, everyone’s needs are slightly different, which makes direct comparisons, side by side, most valuable.
STOCKING UP Automaster started the move into the new premises in November 2020 but it’s only now that stock levels are back up to where they needed to be, Gary says. That meant Automaster could allocate equipment for the showroom, giving the sales team the tools and inventory they need to function as intended, while the business gets on with the renovation in other areas. Gary says the world’s widely publicised logistics problems — a lack of shipping compounding
TOUCH AND FEEL So why a showroom? “For a couple of reasons,” says Gary. “We have such a big range on offer, it’s much easier to explain the differences to the customers when they are standing in front of the machines. It is also great to be able to show the customer benefits of our equipment over the competitors’.”
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Auto Channel Issue #45 April 2022
Corghi tyre machines
